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Suspicions
This is the sixth episode of Vale, season 1. Written by Rainy. Read, enjoy, & comment! '' '' ''Suspicions'' For the second time in a couple of days, I was awoken in the middle of the night. This time though, it wasn't by Daisypaw obsessing over Specklepaw. It was a serious-faced Minkpaw, looking like a silent assassin with her sleek dark fur and set jaw. "Come on," she whispered. "Where are we going?" I hissed back softly. "I thought we agreed to start our investigation tomorrow." She rolled her eyes. "Night is the best time for investigating. Don't prove me wrong for asking you to help me on this." Stifling the urge to grumble some more, I rolled out of my nest and padded silently after her, out into the camp. I had to admit, just being outside, alone in the dark, about to go after a killer, gave me the chills. Also my legs started shaking. Also- "Is there any chance," Minkpaw said irritatedly, "that you could get your teeth to stop chattering?" "Sorry," I sighed. "Maybe I'm not-" "No time for that. Come on." With a sigh, I followed her out the camp entrance. "What's our first stop?" "The scene of the murder," she said confidently. "We have to see if the investigation patrol missed anything, or if there's anything we just weren't told." Quietly, I murmured, "Why are you so bent on solving this case, Minkpaw? I mean, Oakstar and the warriors are on it. Why do you think we can do better than them, with all the experience and training they have and we lack?" A fierce glitter shone in her eyes. "Because, Breezepaw. I can't sit by and let another innocent be murdered. I never liked Shinecloud. At all. Ever. But she was my Clanmate and she didn't deserve to be killed. Understand? And I just can't let this happen without doing something. I just can't. And honestly, I'm surprised you don't feel the same way. Aren't you the one who always blathers about SpringClan pride and stuff?" "Me? What? No! That's cheerful old Daisypaw, or Specklepaw the braggart. I'm the pessimistic one in the corner, complaining about how spring activates my allergies. Remember me?" For perhaps the first time, Minkpaw cracked a small smile. "Oh yeah." With some of the tension in the air relieved, I muttered, "Can I admit something? I'm really terrified right now. Seriously. I think I'm going to die of fright." This time she laughed for real. "Me too, actually." I had already filled her in on what Bluebird had told me, about the cat washing his paws at the river and the mint; she was as puzzled as I was about it, but she agreed it would prove useful once we figured where it fit in the puzzle. For her part, she had told me she'd overheard Quailfeather talking about extra scent of various loners on the SpringClan border. We didn't think it had been a loner murderer with his sent disguised as a SpringClan cat, but we couldn't afford to dismiss anything. Hopefully we would find some clues that could help us tonight. So we padded onward, headed towards the dark silhouette of High-Rock. Upon reaching our destination, we began climbing upwards, at home in the crevices and pawholds we'd known since the beginning of our apprenticeship. All of us had spent hours practicing on High-Rock in the first days of training, and then days playing on it just for fun. But now things were different. This was no game of leader of the hill. It was night, there was a killer on the loose, and the stakes were much, much higher. "This must be about where they found Shinecloud's body. Right here, where the grass is all smashed down and there are still traces of blood." Minkpaw examined the ground closely, squinting to see in the silvery moonlight. "But is this where the actual murder happened?" I questioned, walking in a radius around the point. I kept my gaze down, intent to find any clues that pointed to a struggle. "There's this point, where I can make out scuff marks- really faint, so they can't be from yesterday's patrol. Those might be from the fight." Minkpaw padded over. "Definitely. There's a droplet of blood on that pebble next to them." She began circling upwards, and I went further down High-Rock. "Hey Minkpaw? Look at this," I called after a little bit. Pebbles and dust scattered under her paws as she came down towards me. I was standing on a little outcrop of rock that was covered in deep, imprintable dirt. And there was a clear, distinct pattern of four paws. "It looks about right to be when the murder happened," I said, a shiver running through me. Was I standing on the earth Shinecloud's killer had? "Something's not right, Breezepaw." I glanced up. "What do you mean?" "I mean... these pawprints were made after the murder." Frowning, I tried to puzzle things out, but quickly gave up trying to look smart; I had no idea what she was talking about. "Care to elaborate?" "I talked to Bluebird too, and he told me that they thought the murder took place around very late afternoon. When the sun is at its peak. And that would mean the dirt would've hardened and cracked. But the dirt is still soft- at least, where the prints are. Meaning the pawprints were made later." "By the investigation patrol?" She shook her head. "I don't think so. Don't you get it Breezepaw? A third cat was involved. Someone saw the body, but didn't tell anyone." Astonished, I stood paralyzed for several moments. I kept waiting for the villain to emerge from behind a rock with a sinister "Well, well, well" but it didn't happen. Still, terror was turning to ice in my veins. "Minkpaw," I whispered. "L-Let's get back to camp." Suddenly looking just as scared, she nodded. "Come on." Like a couple of crazed things, we shot through the black night, overwhelmed and confused by our discovery. I woke up really late the next morning- which I really didn't think I could be blamed for, but apparently every other cat thought so. As soon as I stepped outside the den, four different cats called my name. "Breezepaw!" Daisypaw called excitedly. "Want to go hunting together?" "Hey, do you want me to show you some aerial moves so you can think about them?" Specklepaw asked, padding over. Lionpatch yelled that I should come over in the evening to get my dislocated ankle looked at. And finally, Minkpaw added, "Breezepaw? Can we talk about our investigation?" Torn, I glanced from face to face. "Er... will do Lionpatch!" I yelled, getting that one out of the way. "Specklepaw, maybe tomorrow? I'm seeing Lionpatch today, so maybe I can start training by then. Daisypaw... I kind of have to talk something over with Minkpaw. I'm sorry, but it's really important." She huffed. "Wait. Minkpaw?" Without replying, I hurried past her and over to Minkpaw. "Any new leads?" "Not really," she said. "Well... I don't know. I think we have our first suspects." My eyes widened. "Really? Who? And suspects? As in plural?" Minkpaw nodded in response. Lowering her voice, she whispered, "I have two possibilities. One a hunch, one with some evidence- or at least, some factors that point toward it." Gesturing with my tail, "Go on." "Okay, don't beat me up about this first hunch - because I know you're moony-eyed over him-" "Hey! I am not 'moony-eyed' about any tom!" "I think it might be Bluebird," she finished in a breath of air. I almost jumped out of my pelt. "You think what?! That's insane! Why would Bluebird kill his brother's mate? What motive could he have?" "Motives," she sighed. "We'll have to do some questioning to figure out if he could've had them. But he could just have been jealous, you know." "Then he would've told Duskwatcher, not killed Shinecloud," I said stubbornly. Shaking her head, Minkpaw sighed. "You're being biased, Breezepaw. I trust my hunches, and I'm going to investigate Bluebird. But anyway, this next suspect has motives. Blackheart." Of course he'd come up on a suspect list. I rolled my eyes. "Being grumpy and rude and mean and unfriendly all the time- that's annoying, but it's not a crime. He's naturally that way, I think." "First of all, Breezepaw, let me point out that neither of us would've thought prior to this that anyone in our Clan was a killer. So we really can't dismiss suspects so easily," Minkpaw said intelligently. "And second of all, remember how Duskwatcher and Shinecloud taunted Blackheart in that fight two days ago? He could've wanted to get back at them- it would be a very natural urge. And maybe he didn't even intend to kill her at first. Maybe she aggravated him, maybe he just lost it. Acted on impulse. Didn't even mean it at heart." Lost it... acted on impulse... didn't even mean it at heart... There was something tugging at me about those words. A face, wrapped in shadows, automatically conjured up. It was like my subconscious had already figured things out, but it couldn't get the message across. Which was, of course, highly annoying. Oh, this was hurting my brain. I decided to focus on something else. "And then there's the issue of the third cat. Do you think they saw the murderer, or just Shinecloud's body?" Minkpaw shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea. And we can't forget about the rogues that were scented on the border. More signs of them were found today on patrol- I saw them myself." I bit my lip. "This isn't working Minkpaw... We need to think of something. A trap." Both of us were silent for a moment. Then it hit me. "I know what we have to do." After a long day of improvising and perfecting our plan - and mulling over the facts of the case - Minkpaw and I parted ways at early evening. We agreed to put the plan into action tomorrow. Now, wasn't there something I needed to do? Oh yeah! Trotting over to the medicine cat's den, I called, "Lionpatch? I'm here to get my ankle looked at." "Oh yes. Come on in," he said. Once I had entered, he began to skillfully unravel the bandages, asking, "Have you had any difficulties?" "No," I said, glancing around. "Where's Blossompaw?" He lay the bandages on the ground and nodded for me to try to put my weight on the paw. "Out collecting herbs. How does the ankle feel?" I gently leaned my weight on it. It felt tender, but there was no pain. Slowly, I took a few steps, and felt a smile bloom on my face. "Great! Does this mean I can start training again?" "I'd recommend taking tomorrow off as well, but after that you're good to go," the tom mewed, disposing of the bandages. "You healed very quickly, I must say." Tentatively, I lingered at the exit to the den. "Lionpatch? Can I ask you a question?" Absently, he nodded. "Sure, Breezepaw. What is it?" "What is mint good for?" He froze. "Well, it's good for soothing stomachs sometimes- but I don't think that's why you're asking, is it?" When I remained silent, he sighed. "I guess everyone knows about the whole mint-to-cover-up-murder thing now. Oakstar won't be pleased." "I just want to help," I pleaded. "You and everyone else," Lionpatch said wearily. He touched his nose to my forehead. "Keep up the good work, Breezepaw. You're intelligent- and moreover, you're young enough to still follow your instincts when you know you need to. A lot of us old badgers have forgotten what that's like." That wasn't exactly what I'd been expecting to hear. "Instincts don't solve murders, Lionpatch." Ruefully, he smiled. "No, they don't, but they always help. Okay? Never forget to listen to them, because they're your ultimate resort. Then again, what do I know? I'm just a peaceful, puttering old medicine cat." "No, no you make a good point. I just... don't know what my instincts are telling me right now." And I had absolutely no idea how to make sense of the scene that greeted me when I exited the den. Fuzzears was outside the elders' den, screaming her head off at Specklepaw and Daisypaw. "There is a murder in the Clan!" she yelled. "And what are you two doing? Canoodling about like it's all about you two! I have never met more selfish apprentices!" My jaw dropped; what was Fuzzears thinking? And that wasn't the only thing. Nearby, Duskwatcher and Bluebird were arguing, eyes blazing, real anger showing in their voices. Duskwacher and Bluebird never fought. As they did, Bluebird looked up, and his electric blue gaze caught mine. Ordinarily, I would've been held stock-still by its power. But now, after what Minkpaw had said, I was forced to drop my eyes and look away. What was happening to SpringClan? What was happening to me? Everyone was supposed to be a suspect but... this was ruining the way I looked at my Clan. "Breezepaw!" I whirled to find an enraged, teary-eyed Daisypaw staring at me. "Where have you been?" she caterwauled. "I've been looking for you for ages!" "I was... with Minkpaw," I stammered. Real tears began pouring down her cheeks, and this time I didn't even label them as overdramatic. Sensitive yes. But maybe I deserved it. "Minkpaw? I just got yelled at by that horrid old badger Fuzzears-" "Fuzzears isn't that bad. And maybe she has a point about you and Specklepaw," I snapped. Daisypaw stared at me, rendered speechless. Her mouth flopped like a fish's. "But we're... best friends. Best friends don't say things like that. Best friends don't ditch each other." Best friends told the truth. Best friends didn't expect each other to spend the whole day with them either. "What do you care? You were hanging out with Specklepaw the whole day! You have a boyfriend! The only young tom who's really spoken to me in the past days is Bluebird, and that's only-" Bad move. Her face crumpled. "Bluebird?! You spoke to Bluebird and you didn't tell me? Did you tell Minkpaw?" "Yes, but only because-" "Argh! Forget it!" And she was gone. Groaning softly, I covered my face with my paw and rocked gently back and forth on my paws. Me and Minkpaw's plan had better work. Or else I had just lost my best friend for nothing. The End Category:Vale Category:WFW 1 Category:Action